Working with Celebrities in Your Cause Marketing Programs

The point that celebrities can play a huge role in cause marketing promotions may be a bit of an understatement when you look at the success of big cause brands like Product (RED), Livestrong, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Where would these causes be without Bono, Lance Armstrong, and Marlo Thomas?

While individual results vary, celebrity involvement can generate tremendous awareness and interest in your cause marketing campaign. According to the 2010 Cone Cause Evolution Study, Americans are 54 percent more likely to take notice of a cause-related campaign by a company or nonprofit if a celebrity they know supports it.

Americans also said that when a celebrity’s support for a cause is sincere, which nearly three-quarters of respondents said they could detect, a whopping 81 percent said that the celebrity could play a significant role in raising awareness for the issue.

Having a music icon like U2’s Bono makes Product (RED) appealing to donors, but what makes it one of the most successful cause marketing campaigns ever is that the companies that run (RED) campaigns are cool by association. This is not just any halo; this is a hip halo, and it’s the ultimate image boost.

So, celebrities are called stars for good reason. But like finding a constellation in the night sky, you need to find the right combination of stars to make your program work.